The pursuit of the perfect tan could be much more costly than you think. According to experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation carry a cancer risk that is equivalent to cigarettes. The IARC, a part of the World Health Organization (WHO), has now re-classified UV tanning beds to the highest possible cancer risk category known as “carcinogenic to humans.”

Scientists have long suspected that tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation were probable carcinogens, and the results of the recent analysis performed by IARC offer proof that this is true. The analysis reviewed about 20 studies to reach the conclusion that the risk of skin cancer is increased by 75 percent when individuals use tanning beds prior to reaching the age of 30.

Although it was previously believed that only one type of ultraviolet radiation was lethal, the experts also discovered that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused disturbing mutations in mice, offering more proof that the radiation is carcinogenic. The research was published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.

Instead of using a tanning bed, the American Cancer Society advises people to use bronzing or self-tanning creams. The organization has reported that in 2008, approximately 62,000 new cases of melanoma were diagnosed in the United States, with about 8,000 people losing their lives to the deadly cancer.

With people eager to get in line for the H1N1 or Swine Flu vaccine, it’s important to remember about the rest of the immunizations you can protect yourself and your children from with routine visits and inoculations. I should know, I just recently got whooping cough and it wasn’t as serious as it would have been if I was a young child, but nonetheless my childhood vaccination wore off and I was susceptible to nasty viruses yet again. August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) and in my opinion, a great way to end the summer and start a new school year…protected.

Each year the goal of NIAM is to provide sufficient awareness to communities across the United States so they are able to schedule routine shots they may have been overlooking. In protecting yourself, you are also protecting the community from spreading potentially dangerous strains of viruses. Although babies, young children, and the elderly are often the most at-risk and the biggest set of age groups receiving shots, NIAM makes sure every adult is aware of the importance of immunization.

With colleges starting up again soon, dorms are notorious for spreading disease because of cramped living quarters, un-sanitized common rooms, and communal showers. Before I started college, my school encouraged the meningococcal shot as the fear of meningitis in residence halls was spreading like wildfire.

It is no secret that an addiction to cigarettes is one of the toughest habits to break. While there are some people who can quit by the strength of will power alone, the vast majority of the smoking population requires the assistance of cessation aids and numerous attempts before quitting cigarettes for good. But with medical reports and statistics piling up over the years detailing the dangers of nicotine, the need to stop smoking has become more of a trend than smoking ever was.

Quitting cigarettes requires more than will power for most people, though. The addiction to tobacco is not only physical but mental and emotional. Smoking a cigarette becomes part of life for the addicted, and many need to completely readjust their lifestyles in order to successfully kick the habit.

A complete change in daily routine might be necessary. If smoking with coffee in the morning was a habit, there may be a need to start the day with water or juice instead. If smoking after meals was the norm, it might be helpful to immediately go for a walk after meals. Some form of exercise should be integrated into daily life as well, since the body will be craving some form of adrenaline that could be found in the healthy feeling that exercise provides.

Children in today’s society are subject to a lot of stress that can lead to a whole host of ailments, which now includes the possibility of asthma. Living in households with a high stress level could put children more at risk for asthma that is associated with environmental triggers such as traffic-related air pollution and exposure to the smoke from cigarettes.

As one marker for childhood stress, which is not easily measured directly, the parents completed questionnaires that examined their own stress levels. The researchers also collected other information such as exposure to cigarette smoke, characteristics of the household, and education of the parents, which is an indicator of socioeconomic status. During this three-year study, 120 of the children developed asthma.

Although the stress alone did not appear to increase the risk of asthma, McConnell and his colleagues from USC and Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital found that the combination of living in a stressful household and living near high levels of pollution that is traffic-related was a larger risk factor for asthma than living in a high traffic area alone.

He cites a serious of studies that were done by researchers at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that found stress to be associated with an increase in wheezing and other risk factors for asthma in infancy. “I think the data are increasingly convincing even though a lot is still not understood about the impact of stress on disease” .